Living On Borrowed Time
by Soccer-Queen123
Summary: I stand in front of him, and look up at his nearly-too-handsome face. His eyes soften as he looks at me. I nearly laugh aloud. In one move I could have him disabled, in two, he would be dead. I did not expect to have this... profession. Nor did I ask for this. In fact, before this, I did not even know it existed. My name is Isabella Marie Swan, and this is my story.
1. Author's Note

Hi and thanks y'all for reading this. Or skimming. Or not reading it at all. I just wanted to thank you for at least opening up the link.

The events that occur in this are products of my imagination and blah blah blah.

True credit goes to Stephenie Meyer, who created the characters.

Sorry about the chapters being so short... I'm not very wordy.

One final note- the characters in this book are all completely human. That means Bella is not a vampire. Edward is not a vampire. Renesmee doesn't have a single drop of vampire blood in her. Jacob is not a shape shifter. Oh! Have I meantioned they are all OOC (out of character)? Well, they are.

I have no idea what year this occurs in. Sometime around the 1800s in perhaps Europe, so if something seems a bit weird, that's why.

And I apologize for introducing Edward so late.

Rated M for mature content. Read at your own risk. I personally believe that line is stupid, but still…


	2. Ceremony

I take one look in the mirror, and grimace. My hair looks like I had just stuck my head in a vacuum. However, it would have to do, I think to myself. I simply could not be late.

Grabbing my skirts, I rushed out of my room, down the grey stone spiral staircase, and into the grand foyer. The grand foyer is my favorite room in the mansion. The walls were painted a shimmering gold, trimmed with eggshell white. A piano sat in the corner, the cover was a shiny black. The marble floor was so polished that I can see my own face in it. Though, that was probably not for the best, seeing how my face is flushed, and my hair looked even worse, if possible. I look at the floor once more, and am startled when I see the face of Charlie, my father. Slowly, my gaze traveled up from the floor, up from his shoes to face. Charlie wore a sharp black suit and black shoes. On his wrist was a watch that I knew would cover the cost of a commoner's family for months, if sold. Charlie's face was lined with tiny wrinkles. His whole face was a silent mask, except for his eyes, which radiated anger.

"You are ten minutes late. Care to explain?" He asked, or rather demanded to know.

I merely looked down at the marble once more, knowing it would be better not to answer.

"Today is the most important day of your life, and you do not wish to be punctual or beautiful? Isabella Marie Swan, dear, you are supposed to be a polished gem, but your hair is crazed, your face red, your dress rumpled. How is that to reflect upon us? The Swan family is a noble family, reaching back centuries. Why could you not be more like your sister Angela?"

"I apologize." I knew the lecture could go on forever if not cut off at the beginning. My older sister, the perfect daughter was never late, never had a stray hair out of place, and had a thousand suitors. I, however was none of those, and heard that everyday.

"Very well. Let us leave that behind for now and continue on to the Ceremony now." I knew that, however, behind those words, Charlie was still simmering mad. Briefly, I wondered how mad he could get, before snapping.

The Ceremony, which I was to attend, was probably the most important thing in my life. Every daughter born to a noble family attended the Ceremony once they turned 15. It would choose their place in life, and what she would pursue as a career. She would train with her mentor for 3 years until she turned 18, in which she would go out in the real world and start her own business, or stay with her mentor, or in the guild. The Ceremony was held annually every April, when the spring rains started, symbolizing a whole new start. I would either be chosen to become a healer, a dancer, a chef, or something equally important. My whole life had lead to this moment. My perfect sister-Angela- was chosen as an elite dancer, and now at the age of 19, dancing for the King himself. How could she not? Angela was beautiful. Her face was a mask of perfection. Her eyes, a deep turquoise danced with light, her nose, was just perfect- not to big, as I considered her own. Angela's lips were full and lush. Her cheekbones were high, her legs long. And her hair, oh her hair! It was a shiny light brown-or dark blond, depending, on the light.

The carriage drawn by four of my father's best horses bumped along the road, pulling me from my thoughts. In just a couple hours, my whole entire fate would change. I quickly fix my hair, pulling it back into the original French Twist. I peer out the carriage window; a light sprinkle of rain dotted the sky.

The coachman lightly tugged on the reins of the dapple-grey horses bringing the carriage to a smooth halt.

"This is where I leave you." He said with a gentle tip of his hat.

"Thank you for your services." My father tipped the coachman enough to probably provide for him for a month, and then began striding toward the large, Roman-inspired white building on her right.

I take a deep breath. I could do this, I thought to myself. Holding my heavy cream-colored skirts, I followed my father.

Upon entering the grand building, my breath was let out in a gentle sigh. It was beautiful. Gold tapestries hung from hooks on the walls. They were woven with such perfection they looked life-like.

There was no time to lose, however. Already I could hear the Ceremony starting.

We rush in, not a second early; just in time to hear the announcer start. The announcer's nametag read Jacob. "Hello, and welcome to the 132nd choosing Ceremony. 17 noble young women have gathered here today to find a worthy profession befitting their heritage and young beauty." A round of applause sounded around the room, mostly from the fathers and career mentors, but a couple girls joined in too.

I use this time to glance around the room. Every single girl was dressed like I was. Beautiful dresses with gems costing a fortune coating the outsides, silk wrapping around it, and the intricate designs. I was one to appreciate beauty, and beautiful they were. The dresses, I mean. They were probably shipped in from faraway countries. Expensive jewelry hung from each girl's throats, wrists, and ears. On every girl's face was a load of makeup; pale foundation, glimmering eye shadow, dark mascara, heavy lipstick and blush. Bella preferred natural beauty, so her face was only lined with a bit of mascara and blush.

"On this gorgeous day we welcome 11 career masters. Please welcome Aro, Caius, Riley, Irena, Bree, Zafrina, Demetri, Alistair, Tanya, Felix and Victoria." Jacob started speaking again once the applause died down. "So let's get started!"

Slowly, each girl was called forward and examined by each career mentor for strong attributes that would serve them well, such as flexibility, beauty, and strength. It was very tedious work, each girl lasting on the stage for about 10 minutes.

Before I realized, Jacob called my name, and Charlie pushed me forward, mind you, and not very gently. I slowly climb up the stairs and onto the platform that served as the stage. The mentors circled around me at a distance, reminding me of vultures.

Slowly, each mentor came closer and peered at my face, pinched my arm muscles, and asked me a few questions quietly. Then they would step back and offer the next mentor a chance. When all of them finished appraising me, they stood quietly side-by-side. I knew this would be the big turning point in my life, and waited anxiously for the verdict.

Jacob turned to look at Aro, who did one last once-over of me before shaking his head. "She is too strong and too tall." I let a tiny sigh escape her. 1 down, I had 10 more chances to find a standing point, lest I would never find a career. I knew however, that the odds of her not finding a mentor were slim to none.

I glanced at Victoria, wondering if Victoria would choose me. But she too silently shook her head. "Her diplomacy is just not quite...there yet. I'm sorry."

Riley looked sorrowful, but quietly said "She seems too nice, or rather kind. The King's dogs are spirited, she would not bode well".

Irena was already shaking her head. "I apologize because this is a silly reason, but Isabella, you are just too beautiful for dancing. None of the other girls would match your profile, and therefore, you would not be suited for." Now I was getting nervous. If no one chose me, what would I do? MY sister had a big choice; all of the career masters offered her a position.

Bree and Zafrina were already stepping back from her, shaking their heads no.

I began to feel lightheaded. I needed to be chosen! What would I do? What would I do if not chosen?! The world around me began swooning in and out of view. That would be the worst humility ever, not being chosen for a career. Only 14 girls in the history of the Ceremony had never been chosen. Nobody ever heard from the 14 again.

The rest of the mentors mumbled different excuses, but in the end, they all rejected me. By then, I was so woozy I could barely stand.

My whole body shook as I exited the stage. When I reached my father, I knew his anger would be massive. Perhaps I should run away, I thought. Find another home somewhere. Perhaps work in a local bar of some sort until I saved enough for a apartment. I could sell her expensive jewelry, too.

My father pulled me along sharply by the arm out of the building long before the Ceremony ended. Quickly he hailed the carriage waiting for them. And soon they headed home.

After slamming the house door shut, he turned and glared at her. His face was consorted in anger. "How could you?! Now you have no hope for your future. I did not raise you to be a beggar. All you needed to do was charm the mentors. But you messed that up. You mess everything up, as you always do." For what felt like forever, his rage went on and on. Before he looked once more at her face, and smiled cruelly. "But now you get your share of what it feels like."

The last thing I saw was his fist connecting with my temple, and everything went dark.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading. Please review it and tell me if I am on the right track. If you feel like it.<p>

Songs (these are the songs that I listened to while writing this):

_Sledgehammer_- Fifth Harmony

_Counting Stars_- OneRepublic

_Take Me To Church- _Hozier


	3. Welcome

When I came to, I was lying in a dark alley, with a black shape hovering over me. I flinched away from the figure, but the figure simply crouched beside me. Peering through the darkness, I could make out that he was male. He scooped me up quickly, and began running out of the alley. I felt too weak to move, but still I tried to escape. One thing my sister had taught me when she had taken defense lessons (a requirement of all Elite Dancers in case they were happened upon by a misfortunate situation) was that to never let one take her to a second location.

I felt a small prick in my arm, and when I looked down, was started to find a small dart poking out of it. Before I could process what had happened, I lapsed back into the darkness again.

The next thing I noticed was that I was laying on a comfortable bed. My head pounded awfully, and my dress was in tatters.

I rolled on her side, and was pleased to see someone left a glass of water and what looked like a couple of painkillers on the bed stand. I gulped down the water and hopefully-painkillers like my life depended on it.

A hesitant knock sounded on the door, and a girl's face peered in. She lightly stepped into the room, and closed the door behind her. I sat up quickly, wincing as the blood rushed to my head.

"Hello," the girl said. "My name is Leah Clearwater. How are you feeling?"

I smiled, though I knew my situation could be dangerous. "Like my head is about to explode."

"At least you are awake. I shall go fetch our mentor for you right now, and we can see about your situation."

"Our?" I felt puzzled. Since when did she have a mentor? She was sure that she was without hope.

"Of course. He will be right in." With that, Leah skipped out of the room.

I eased her herself back onto the pillows.

Another knock sounded on the door, but this time it was firmer, more exact. The door opened, and the man who I recognized as the one who carried me out of the alley walked in.

"Hello." He said, smiling slightly and looking at her expectantly.

"You- but you're…" I stumbled, looking for the correct name. "You're Jacob."

Jacob smiled a full blown smile now. He really was quite handsome, she thought. His features were not quite hers- they were more exotic looking, with higher cheekbones, soft brown eyes, and darker skin. He was about 20, I guessed, 5 years older than I was. "That I am. Now, about your situation, you see, you were left in that alley by your prestigious father after not being picked."

I nod slowly. "What am I supposed to do?" I ask.

"Well, you see, I am also a Career Mentor, just not like those one you witnessed 2 days ago."

"I've been out for 2 days?!" I could not believe it.

"Yes. Now, as I was saying, I am a mentor. You see, this place you are in is the training center. The girl, Leah, that you just met, she is one of the trainees. She is also the only other female trainee. I'm sure the two of you will be best of friends."

"And what, exactly, do you teach?" I was curious. As far as the world had seen, there were only 11 mentors. How could Jacob be one of them?

"Oh, Bella, dear," Jacob chuckled to himself. "We are assassins."

My head shook and I forced myself to lay back down again. I took a deep breathe. "Assassins?"

"Yes. We ah… dispatch people."

"_Excuse _me?"

"We kill people."

"Kill," I say, testing the word out on my tongue. "You _kill_ people."

"Yes. We _kill_ people. Call it murder, call it assassination, call it whatever you want. But, yes, we kill people."

"For money?"

"That would be one reason. The King also hires us for events. One evening you may be off slitting one's throat and the next smiling on the arm of a lord," Jacob smiled at Bella's confused expression. "Sometimes we are required to play the role of a clueless, ordinary person in order to get close enough to our target. Your's and Leah's position will be a bit different seeing that you are both girls. I'll give you a moment to chew on that."

I nodded very slowly. "One more question."

"Yes?"

"Do you ever... regret it? Killing those people?"

His eyes sadden as if he was expecting tht question. "Bella, there is a certain point that you realize something very important. You see, we are sent out to get traitors and people that are not loyal to the king. After all, they are only living on borrowed time after their act in betraying the kingdom and such. You needn't worry. They deserved the justice you met out."

I nod. "I kinda get it."

"I'll send in Ms. Clearwater. Perhaps she could enlighten you better. But rest assured, no matter what you choose- whether to stay with us and train, or to go out to forge your own path in life- you will be taken care of." Jacob grasped my sweaty palm, and smiled one last time before exiting.

The second he left the room, Leah came bouncing in. "Hi. So what do you think? Do you wish to stay?"

"I'm not quite sure. What role do you play? And Jacob said something about smiling on the arm of a lord. How does that relate to murdering?"

Leah smiled seductively. She batted her eyelashes a little. I look up at her confused. Then, slowly, Leah leaned towards me, and for a split second, I was afraid. When Leah's lips were a hairbreadth away from mine, she froze, and whipped out a knife I didn't even know she possessed. "Just like that, and their throat is slit. It's quite simple, you know. At least with training it is."

"I see? But why bother at all?"

"You will see, if you choose to stay. And for your second question, here is my answer. You see, sometimes I am dispatched at court for weeks at a time. And in order for my work not to get wrapped up with innocent nobles, I have to be secretive. And secrecy can be achieved in many ways. For example, as I just showed you, seduction is useful. I can appear to be a brainless noblewoman to others, and get close enough to my target that way. We have also learned how to stalk your target. You will learn all that and more if you so choose to stay."

"Is there a reason why I shouldn't stay?"

"Bella, the world is dangerous out there. You could get into immense trouble with no going back. That is where skills come in handy. Self defense. Seduction. That sort of thing."

"What's with you and seduction?"

"The world is overrun with idiotic men who will follow you like a lost puppy if you offer even a smile."

"A smile?" How could a smile change the way a man saw me?

"A smile. Please think about staying. Think of all we have to offer. Even if you do not stay afterwards, at least you know some things about the real world."

"Let me think about it."

"Please do".

"I will stay. "

"Great!" Leah said in delightment as she clapped her hands. "I can't wait till you start training! We have the most amazing throwing knives in the world here!"

For some odd reason, I felt like I had made one of the hardest choices in my life.

* * *

><p>Songs:<p>

_The Monster_-Eminem featuring Rhianna

_Lose Yourself_-Eminem

_We Are Young-_Fun featuring Janelle Monae


	4. Errands

I awoke to Leah sitting on my bed and filing her nails using a... knife? When she saw that I was awake, her eyes lit up. "Finally! I was begining to get a bit worried. It's nearly noon, and you still hadn't awoken."

"I _was_ awake."

"But then you fell back asleep, and Jacob said to let you sleep."

"That was sure nice of him."

"Yeah," she paused. "It was. So, you ready to start your day?"

"Sure," I respond nervously, watching her tuck away her knife.

"First we have a few quick stops to make before we can get to dinner **[Note: Dinner is lunch. Supper is... well, dinner, or the last meal of the day]**. So we should hurry, because the food here is amazing, and it would suck if we couldn't make it." Her eyes glimmered with mischievousness.

She grabs my hand, and pulls me to my feet. She grimaces at the dress I wore to bed. "First we need to get you more suitable clothes. We need to get you clothes, period." She leads me out of my room and down the hallway. The hallway had striped wallpaper, and was carpeted. The carpet was so soft on my feet that I would sleep on it. Wait! My feet?

"You do realize I have no shoes, right?" I ask.

"Of course, we are stopping by my room for something nice for you to wear before we make the rounds." She answers, before turning down another hallway. "Here. This is my room." She unlocks the door, and my eyes widen as I took in her suite. The room right in front of the door was her livingroom. The walls were a fern green, and a white couch lay before the fireplace. Several comfy-looking chairs sat randomly around the room. Leah smiled, and led me to a room on her right. "This here is my bedroom" she said before opening that door.

"_This_ is your bedroom?"

"Yep," she says, chuckling at my expression.

"But... but... There's makeup on this side" I gesture to my right where shelves of eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, foundation, nail polish-you name it, it was there- lay. On that same wall was a desk and a closet. The desk was a giant mirror and even more makeup. Through the closet-the door was open- was hundreds of clothes- dresses, shoes, pants and shirts. I look to my left. "And on this side... weapons?"

She looks in the direction I was looking. "Is there a problem?"

"Do you have a multiple personality disorder, or something?"

"No. Why would you think that?"

"Most people don't have the biggest collection of makeup and uh... weapons in their room."

"Biggest collection?" Leah snorted. "Just wait till you see Madam Alice's collection."

"Who is Madam Alice?"

"She is our shall we say... beauty styler? She is the one who dresses us up for our roles in court, mainly. She also sometimes makes our clothes. Oh! And Madam Alice is our 'womaly arts' instructor."

"You said 'us', but I thought Jacob said you and I were the only females here."

"Yes, that is true. But not at the same time. You see, we are the only female _trainees_ here. There have been other females before. Alice was actually on one of them. She decided to stay back for the time being and help train you and I instead of going out on missions. You have heard of the fourteen who hadn't passed the trials, correct?"

"Yes. Were you one of them?"

"No, I wasn't. My family sends their first-born daughter to train here, but that is beside the point. The point is, every girl who had not passed the Ceremony ended up here eventually. You are, of course, the fifteenth. Anyways, let's get you dressed appropriately."

The next half hour flew by as Leah made me try on several of her dresses. All of them were too formal, too large, or too revealing, before she found the perfect one for me. It was light blue with cap sleeves. It fell around my calves. The neckline was a scoop, and ended a couple inches below my collarbones. Then, she sat me down in her makeup-chair, and went to work with me. By the time she was finished, I could barely recognize myself. My eyes are boring, drab brown, but she made them look glimmering and warm. My face looked slimmer, and my lips slightly larger. My cheekbones were more apparent. She smiled at me through the mirror.

"You ready?"

"Yes. Two more things, though."

"I'm listening."

"If Alice is the make-up artist, then what do you call this?" I point at my face.

"Madam Alice teaches us how to put on makeup. After all, sometimes when on missions, we need to take care of ourselves. That includes make-up. And your next question?"

"When can I meet her?"

"Who? Madam Alice? You will meet her today, so she can take your measurements. You will see her nearly everyday, actually. Some days, you will be learning 'womanly arts' and some you will be choosing dress, and such. Madam Alice is one the most social person out there. You ready to go get things done?"

"Yes," I smiled.

"Then let's go takle the world!"

Leah hands me a pair of six-inch pumps. "I can't wear these! I will stumble and break my neck!" I say looking at the shoes I hold in my hand.

"Another thing Madam Alice will teach you- how to opperate in heels. But I guess, since you haven't had a class with her yet, that you can just have theses." She sighs, and takes the heels out of my hands, and gives me a pair of black flats.

"Thanks."

With a nod, she leads me out of her room and down the hallway. We makes a couple of turns, and go down two floors before coming to a door. The door was painted bright pink. Leah turned to me. "Here we are. Madam Alice's workshop. As you will see, she is a bit... excited."

"What do you mean?" I felt that I had been asking a lot of questions in the last couple hours.

"You will see," was her only response before raising her hand and knocking on the door.

The door was opened by a pixie-like woman. Her black hair was short, and spiked. And she seemed so energetic and happy. I didn't see how she could kill. Before I had a chance to speak, Alice grabbed my hand and fairly bounced me into the room. She smiled warmly at me. "Come," she said. I followed her into the next room. She took out a tape measurer, and asked me silently with her eyes if I was okay. I nodded, and she went to work measuring and recording.

Ten minutes later, Leah and I walked out of her workshop.

"I see what you meant about her," I said.

"I expected that. Now we have to go get weapons for you."

"Weapons? For me? But I have never even held a dagger."

"You will soon."

We entered a room at the end of the hallway.

"The weapons master is Jasper. He is like Alice in a way... and isn't. He also instructs about combat and stuff."

"Hi." A guy with curly blonde hair walks up to me. He does a once-over of me before leading me over to a wall. "This is the knives wall." No kiddin', I think to myself. The wall held every knife, stiletto, dagger, and blade imagineable. And more. He selects a couple thin knives and hands them to me.

"Um... what do I do with these?" I ask.

Jasper looks at Leah in surprise. "Has she not been taught?"

"No. I suppose we should probably let her learn a couple things now, shouldn't we."

Jasper turns to me. "How about tomorrow morning at around 8 we learn the basics?"

I look towars Leah. "Sure," she says, before taking me out of the room.

"How will I ever find where to go to meet him?" I am completely lost without her.

As if sensing my thoughts she responds. "That's what I am for."

I look at her and smile.

"Now for more exciting things- dinner. And then we can go out and get you aquainted with some nobles of _very_ high status that know us,and what we do. Try not to screw up".

"Thanks for the encouragement, Leah," I say, rolling my eyes.

"What?" she shrugs. "It's true."

We walk down the hall and up a staircase. To the direct left of us was a large dining room. The tables were set up in two long rows spanning the room. Covering the tables were pristine white table clothes emborderied with gold lining. Shining goblets already dotted the tables. Past the tables lay a long countertop. On top of it lay enough food to fill someone for a month. There was pre-made sandwiches and stuff to make your own sandwich. There was turkey and mashed potatoes. There was soups and there was salads. And there was a drink bar.

"Wow," I say, taking it all in.

"I know."

"Where do I start?"

"Well seeing that we have maybe an hour and a half to eat, I would recommend soup and a sandwich." She strides over to the food-ladden tables. "Here."

I accept the bowl she handed me, and went to dish up some soup. But paused when I saw all the different flavors. Tiny name cards sat besides to pots of soup. I turn to look at Leah. "What's the difference between tomato soup and tomato basil?"

She laughs. "I don't know- you will have to ask the chef. I would recommend broccoli cheddar or potato soup."

I reach for the broccoli cheddar soup, when suddenly an arm knocks mine out of the way. A man at least six feet tall glares down at me. I shrink back against Leah.

"Back off, Jared," Leah says, staring him straight in the eyes.

"Well she shouldn't have cut me in line!" he says.

"We both know you came here after us. Please get lost."

"Fine. But this isn't over," he glares daggers at me.

"Who was that?" I ask Leah as soon as Jared was out of earshot.

"That, my new initiate friend, was Jared Cameron. He is basically the big macho macho man of this guild. Everyone knows he has this _thing_ for me." She giggles. "Anyways, look at the time! We need to move! Grab a sandwich and follow me."

I jog over to the sandwich area and grab a Swiss and ham sandwich, before turning and following Leah. She dashes out the door and up the hallway. I follow suit, and soon we are winding through more hallways. Finally, we reach what I assume to be the main foyer, and stop. The foyer was large and open. It had a white marble floor, and a tiny balcony above it. Leah leads me out a side door. We step out onto a small courtyard leading to a barn. We enter the barn, and I inhale deeply.

"We house the finest horses here," she says proudly. She snaps at a stableboy who was gawking at me. "Saddle up Wanderer and Spirit, will you?"

The stableboy rushes to go get the horses ready.

"The horse's names are Wanderer and Spirit?"

"No, actually, they are With Wanderer's Magic Nothing Will Go Awry and A Spirit's Revenge Is But For The Hopeful. But that's a mouthful. So we call them Wanderer and Spirit. They are our most... majestic mares. They hail directly from Only Wings Can Carry Me Swiftly Away, or Wings, as we call him. He was the king's greatest pride. We got him in exchange for some... favors. Ah! Here the horses are now!"

I turn to look. A dapple grey horse about 15 hands **[NOTE: 1 hand is 4 inches, so 15 hands is 60 inches, measured at their withers (shoulders)]** tall greetes me. The other one, a black with a white star on her head tosses her head, pins her ears, and prances in place all at once. Both horses are built beautifully with perfectly shaped backs, and long, lithe legs.

"The grey is Wanderer. She will be yours, I think. Wanderer is the calmer one, but you may have Spirit, if you wish."

"I'm good with Wanderer," I say, boosting myself into the saddle.

Leah thanks the stable boy, and soon we are trotting out of the stable. Leah turns onto a road, and I stare in amazement. This is the road I grew up on. My house is situated less than a quarter mile away. Leah, sensing my thoughts, turns to smile at me, before cantering away.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading!<p>

Please please _please_ review!

Sorry this chapter was a bit slow, and that you still haven't met Edward. I swear you get to meet him within 4 chapters or so.

Songs:

_Dangerous_- David Guetta featuring Sam Martin

_Uptown Funk_- Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

_Fireball_- Pitbull featuring John Ryan


End file.
